Ernest Thompson
The Attorney General’s Office has filed a total 127 separate documents in addition to a pen drive with additional documents in the trial of former Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Ernest Thompson and four other persons, who have been charged with causing financial loss to the state.
Although the contents of the documents are not known, Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions, told an Accra High Court hearing the matter that the state had filed all the documents it would rely on for the trial.
This, she said, was in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling that accused persons in a summary trial are entitled to trial documents of the prosecution in order to enable them to adequately prepare their defence.
She told the court, presided over by Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, that the prosecution filed the documents at the court’s registry as far back as September 24, 2018, but could not tell whether all the accused persons were served with the documents.
Trial
Mr. Thompson and three former management members of SSNIT and a private businesswoman have been accused of causing financial loss to the state in the award of the controversial and failed $72 million IT project – Operational Business Suite (OBS).
The other accused persons are John Hagan Mensah, Information Technology Infrastructure Manager of SSNIT, Juliet Hassana Krama, CEO of Perfect Business Solutions (PBS) Limited, the operator of the OBS, Caleb Kwaku Afaglo, General Manager of Management Information Systems at SSNIT and Peter Hayibor, General Counsel of SSNIT.
They are being accused of inflating the contract sum of the OBS from $34,011,914.21 to $66,783,148.08 through what were termed variously as ‘change orders’ and ‘variations.’
The five accused persons are facing a total of 29 charges, including conspiracy to commit crime, causing financial loss to the state, defrauding by false pretenses, contravention of the Public Procurement Authority Act, as well as possession of forged documents.
Prosecution Documents
Although the state has presented 127 documents and a pen drive with additional documents, which they intend to rely on for the trial to the court, all the defence lawyers told the court that they have not been served with the documents.
The lawyers were not impressed with the fact that the documents were only filed as late as September 24, 2018 given that the last time the case was called was in July 2018.
Private legal practitioner, Thaddeus Sory, lead counsel for Juliet Hassana Krama, CEO of Perfect Business Solutions (PBS) Limited, averred that the decision of the Supreme Court was not just about the accused persons being given prosecution documents, but must also be given adequate time to prepare their defence as guaranteed by the constitution.
Abednego Mensah, lead council for Ernest Thompson, also averred that looking at the huge volume of documents filed by the state and the contents of the pen drive not known, the defence would need at least three months to go through the documents.
All the defence lawyers shared similar sentiments and added that they will need adequate time to consult their clients on each document, as well other defence lawyers in the matter because of the conspiracy charges.
The presiding judge, Justice Kwofie, after listening to both sides, held that looking at the huge volume of documents filed by the state and the fact that he is yet to get his copies of the document, he would give the defence lawyers eight weeks to examine the documents.
He subsequently adjourned the matter to December 14, 2018.
By Gibril Abdul Razak